21 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

I read Stargirl because I thought it was about a homeschooled girl and the transition to being in a school. It is that, but it is much more.

It is about being yourself, yet trying to fit in. It is about not caring what others think about you, yet wanting to have friends. It is about school being about more than what is taught by the teachers in the classrooms. It is about life being about more than school and work.

The fact that Stargirl was homeschooled before attending Mica Area High School is somewhat incidental. She could have almost as easily been from another part of the country, or even a different country. It is a way for the author to emphasize that she was not entrenched in "how school works" and the social aspects surrounding school, cliques, and school activities. Having Stargirl be a former homeschooler emphasizes that she is comfortable in her individuality.

This is a great book for anyone interested in viewing teen life through the perspective of a kind, naive, outsider. If you ever felt like the "odd one" in school, this will resonate with you.

She was elusive. She was today. She was tomorrow. She was the faintest scent of a cactus flower, the flitting shadow of an elf owl. We did not know what to make of her. In our minds we tried to pin her to corkboard like a butterfly, but the pin merely went through and away she flew.

This book is delight for everyone who has ever been sixteen (or anyone working on getting there). By far, my favorite of Spinelli's work, and I LOVE Spinelli.

I read Stargirl because I thought it was about a homeschooled girl and the transition to being in a school. It is that, but it is much more.

It is about being yourself, yet trying to fit in. It is about not caring what others think about you, yet wanting to have friends. It is about school being about more than what is taught by the teachers in the classrooms. It is about life being about more than school and work.

The fact that Stargirl was homeschooled before attending Mica Area High School is somewhat incidental. She could have almost as easily been from another part of the country, or even a different country. It is a way for the author to emphasize that she was not entrenched in "how school works" and the social aspects surrounding school, cliques, and school activities. Having Stargirl be a former homeschooler emphasizes that she is comfortable in her individuality.

This is a great book for anyone interested in viewing teen life through the perspective of a kind, naive, outsider. If you ever felt like the "odd one" in school, this will resonate with you.

Stargirl Caraway is an enigma. She's the type of girl that you either love or hate--with no room for any emotions in between. When she first comes to the high-school as a sophomore in small town Mica, Arizona, her name reverberates throughout the hallways. What kind of a name is Stargirl? Was she really home-schooled for all these years, or did she just magically appear in Mica? How can she seem so calm, so serene, why eating quietly alone in the lunchroom, then strumming her ukulele as if all alone?

The boys in school are immediately struck by her quiet, unassuming beauty. The girls are both jealous of her innate naturalness and excited to have her enthusiasm in the school. For Leo Borlock, it's a mixture of fear and excitement that has him falling in love with the mysterious Stargirl--and a desire to see her on the Hot Seat, the in-school television show he runs with his best friend, Kevin.

The kids at school embrace Stargirl--her quirkiness, her individuality, her enthusiasm and exuberance for everything she does. She discovers friends and cheerleading, and she's popular. Popular, that is, until she starts rooting for the opposition, determined to bring joy and happiness to everyone, not just her home team. Suddenly, she's not the popular girl that everyone wants to be around. The same individuality that was once embraced is now snubbed, literally, by almost everyone in school. Except for Leo, who's in love with the enigmatic Stargirl, a girl who whole-heartedly loves him back.

Until Leo is forced to choose between the affections of an entire school full of classmates and the maybe-too-individual Stargirl. When faced with the choice of one person versus many, Leo might not be strong enough to make the right decision.

Jerry Spinelli has penned a book that goes straight to the heart of wanting to fit in, of sometimes being too good to believe, of life and love and heartbreak and the desire to be different, yet the same as everyone else. STARGIRL is a pure delight, and you won't be able to help being drawn into this very believable story, and it's truly unbelievable characters.

Stargirl Caraway is an enigma. She's the type of girl that you either love or hate--with no room for any emotions in between. When she first comes to the high-school as a sophomore in small town Mica, Arizona, her name reverberates throughout the hallways. What kind of a name is Stargirl? Was she really home-schooled for all these years, or did she just magically appear in Mica? How can she seem so calm, so serene, why eating quietly alone in the lunchroom, then strumming her ukulele as if all alone?

The boys in school are immediately struck by her quiet, unassuming beauty. The girls are both jealous of her innate naturalness and excited to have her enthusiasm in the school. For Leo Borlock, it's a mixture of fear and excitement that has him falling in love with the mysterious Stargirl--and a desire to see her on the Hot Seat, the in-school television show he runs with his best friend, Kevin.

The kids at school embrace Stargirl--her quirkiness, her individuality, her enthusiasm and exuberance for everything she does. She discovers friends and cheerleading, and she's popular. Popular, that is, until she starts rooting for the opposition, determined to bring joy and happiness to everyone, not just her home team. Suddenly, she's not the popular girl that everyone wants to be around. The same individuality that was once embraced is now snubbed, literally, by almost everyone in school. Except for Leo, who's in love with the enigmatic Stargirl, a girl who whole-heartedly loves him back.

Until Leo is forced to choose between the affections of an entire school full of classmates and the maybe-too-individual Stargirl. When faced with the choice of one person versus many, Leo might not be strong enough to make the right decision.

Jerry Spinelli has penned a book that goes straight to the heart of wanting to fit in, of sometimes being too good to believe, of life and love and heartbreak and the desire to be different, yet the same as everyone else. STARGIRL is a pure delight, and you won't be able to help being drawn into this very believable story, and it's truly unbelievable characters.

I understand completely why the early teenagers (especially girls!) of the YA audience would love this book. Stargirl is a free spirit just like we all wish we could be. She's chosen her own name. She dresses crazily, dances uninhibitedly, spreads kind messages and encouragement wherever she can, asks nothing in return, and finds love. She's kooky and non-conformist, open-hearted, generous and trusting. She even understands and forgives those who betray her. Wow.

I just wish this book had been written a hundred years ago, so I could have discovered it as an early teenager, fallen in love with it and named it my first favorite book of all time, ever. Alas. I'm just too old for it, I think. But I get why it's intended audience will absolutely love it. Fours stars for them. Two and a half for me. Alas.

She was elusive. She was today. She was tomorrow. She was the faintest scent of a cactus flower, the flitting shadow of an elf owl. We did not know what to make of her. In our minds we tried to pin her to cork board like a butterfly, but the pin merely went through and away she flew.

Stargirl. From the day she arrives at Mica High, the halls are filled with murmurs of, "Stargirl, Stargirl". She captures Leo Borlock's heart with just one smile. She sparks a school-spirit revolution with just one cheer. The students of Mica High are enchanted. At first.
Then they turn on her. Stargirl is suddenly shunned for everything that makes her different, and Leo, desperate with love, he urges her to become the one thing that can destroy her: normal.